Oregon WaterWise Gardening
Providing New Choices for Oregon Gardeners
“We aspire to help Oregonians learn about our unique climate and respond by
creating gardens and landscapes that reflect our uniqueness”
1. Summary: Statewide, Oregon is subject to a Mediterranean type climate of winter
precipitation and dry summers. Despite this pattern, Oregonians continue to garden primarily in
the British tradition using high water-use landscape materials. This results in 30-50% higher
water use than necessary, creating higher costs for consumers and public utilities, and limiting
available water for agriculture and fish and wildlife. Through teamwork and partnering with
nurseries, water bureaus, and local governments, we propose to provide the public with high
value gardening alternatives. The program will include publicly available information and
training on methods and plant selection, including workshops, advanced trainings, community
outreach, website development, outreach through the media, and information at retail nurseries,
the “point of sale.” Since good soil quality is essential to a successful approach, soil testing of
post-construction is also included as part of the proposal.
2. Project team. Principle Investigators: Linda McMahan, Staff Chair and Horticulture
faculty in Yamhill County, and Amy Jo Detweiler, Consumer Horticulture faculty in Deschutes
County. Amy Jo has published an award-winning publication on Xeriscaping in the High
Desert; she works with agencies and landscapers on WaterWise techniques. Linda has presented
this topic in several training over the past several years; interest in WaterWise application
dovetail with her interest in the horticultural merit of plants native to the Pacific Northwest.
Linda will coordinate efforts west of the Cascades and Amy Jo will coordinate efforts east of the
Cascades. Linda will take the lead on developing volunteer training modules and local
community outreach, while Amy Jo will take the lead on partnering with water bureaus.
Team Members and Roles: Carol Savonen, Associate Professor, Extension and
Experiment Stations Communications; Steve Dodrill, Associate Professor, Extension and
Experiment Station Communications. Carol will lead the efforts of outreach through
newspapers, and Steve will assist with the production of appropriate public service
announcements and video production. The current participating consumer horticulture group are
Neil Bell, Consumer Horticulture, Marion County Extension; Steve Renquist, Consumer
Horticulture, Douglas County Extension; Chip Bubl, Staff Chair and Horticulture, Columbia
County Extension; and Barb Fick, Consumer Horticulture, Benton and Linn County Extension
Services. Also a member of the horticulture team is David Sandrock, Assistant Professor,
Department of Horticulture and John Hart Department of Crops and Soil Science. All team
members will be looking at local or campus-based teaching and outreach, including advanced
training for Master Gardeners™, creation of demonstration gardens, and assisting in editing and
expertise for media outreach. Derek Godwin, Staff Chair and Watershed Enhancement, Marion
County Extension, will act as liaison to the Watershed Working Group and provide watershed
expertise when appropriate, especially for stormwater management issues. In addition, Neil Bell
will work on soil testing with John Hart from the Department of Crops and Soil Sciences. Steve
Renquist will initiate and manage the contacts with nurseries to provide “point of sale”
information to consumers, working closely with the Oregon Association of Nurseries.
3. Project Plan.
Target Audience. The major target audience is the gardening public or Oregon.
Although we talk to many clients who are aware that water conservation is ideal, they lack the
basic information needed to make a change from high-water landscapes to lower water
landscapes. Another major target audience is the retail nurseries, who we hope to reach through
personal contact and through the Oregon Association of Nurseries.
Justification. Why we want to do this project!
First, this project supports the OSU Extension Service Strategic Plan thematic areas of
Sustaining Natural Resources and Strengthening Communities by focusing on environmental and
economic sustainability. We will address issues of water conservation, energy use, water costs,
and storm water pollution; these issues are important to many local communities and individual
Oregonians. Information on water overuse is generally available statistically although not
necessarily common knowledge. The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that public
water use is 50% higher in the western United States than other parts of the county during
summer months primarily due to landscape irrigation. Research indicates a trend in the
western U.S. where 40-60% of all water use by single family residences occurs in home
landscapes, which are often over-watered by 40%!
Information on appropriate plant selection for WaterWise applications is also available
through extension publications and published books. However, this information is relatively
little used by the public because of cost or accessibility. One of our objectives is to create free,
web-based information, paired with media outreach to connect learners to available resources.
Anticipated Project Outcomes
1. We will develop an outcomes-tested training module for OSU Master Gardeners™.
The module will be administered to at least 50 OSU Master Gardeners in at least three locations;
we anticipate that learners will show statistically significant levels of learning and intended
behavior change and that most will be willing to provide outreach in their communities.
2. Through development of website, at least 15 media articles and at least one public
service announcement, we will reach thousands of Oregonians with a branded “Oregon
WaterWise” message, resulting in more than 500 website visits to obtain information.
3. Through developing post cards or bookmarks, information posters, and special plant
tags tested and implemented at three or more retail nurseries, we will change the purchasing
patterns of individual consumers, direct them to OSU website information, and provide increased
interest in selected landscaping plants within the retail nursery industry.
4. Through testing new construction soil at various locations, we will increase the
applied research base knowledge to better determine soil amendment recommendations for
increased water efficiency.
Proposed Project Activities
A. Master Gardener Curriculum and Delivery. Design and develop pilot curriculum
materials, including landscape design kits, for delivery to Master Gardeners and the community.
Program would be offered at low cost with “payback” being work within individual communities
or further curriculum design, such as fact sheets, developing appropriate garden tours open to the
public, giving talks to public audiences, or holding neighborhood block parties to feature
individual gardens. Leads: Linda McMahan and Amy Jo Detweiler
B. Working with Retail Nurseries. We will develop contacts with several retail
nurseries and test a series of Oregon WaterWise Plant tags, fact sheets, and information cards for
the public at these locations. Lead: Steve Renquist
C. Study Post-Construction Soils. After construction activities, soil destined for
gardens is typically compact and low in nutrition. We will study typical post-construction soils
for suitability for WaterWise Gardening and create an OSU publication for amending and
adapting soils to support these gardens. Lead: Neil Bell
D. Demonstration Gardens and On-Campus Curriculum. Team members would
create web-based information about existing WaterWise gardens at Extension offices, explore
the development of new ones, as well as design and plan a demonstration garden on campus.
The ideas would also be integrated into the undergraduate curriculum as well as OSU Extension
information. Leads: David Sandrock and Linda McMahan
E. Public Outreach through Newspapers. The literature shows a “disconnect” between
the methods we use in OSU Extension (workshops and brochures) and those favored by the
public (TV and newspapers). By involving EESC, we would create 15 stories for news releases
in the coming year. The stories would establish OSU Extension in the state leadership position
on information about Oregon WaterWise Gardening. Lead: Carol Savonen
Evaluation Plan All phases and aspects of the program will be evaluated for
effectiveness, learning, and behavior change. Training will include pre- and post-learning tests,
along with a measurement of stated objectives to make changes in individual gardending
practices. When appropriate, participants will be asked follow-up questions. To evaluate the
effectiveness of “point of sale” we will conduct interviews with employees at the retail nurseries
and carry out a “focus group” of gardeners, such as in those in the Master Gardener Program.
Public outreach will be tracked through use by newspapers and newsletters when this
information is available, and website hits will be tracked and recorded. We will consider an
interactive portion of the website where readers can post questions for answer by the “experts.”
The demonstration gardens would be evaluated through a focus group or through an on-campus
horticulture class for feedback on usefulness.
4. Background research, knowledge and practice relevant to the proposal. Statistical
information on overwatering is available above; other sources and general trend information
show similar and systematic overuse of water for landscaping in the West. In addition, a
regional study of delivery methods vs. the way the public wishes to receive information indicates
a “disconnect” between our usual delivery through workshops and fact sheets is not entirely
compatible with the pubic interest in receiving information at the point of sale, through the
media, or on the web. Because of this we have modified our approach to include both traditional
methods for our current users and new methods to reach a broader consumer base. The “Point of
Sale” approach has worked in other states, particularly for information on invasive plant
species—we expect our results to be similar in Oregon. A recent California study also shows
that most homeowners receive their information on plants at the point of sale.
5. Budget
Materials and supplies.
Supplies for training workshops and landscape kits
Nursery tag production
700
2500
Equipment
---
Travel
200
Communications and technology
PSA production
15 print media articles (through EESC contractor)
Point of sale cards or bookmarks, design and printing
500
1,500
1,500
Salary and Benefits
---
Subcontracts
Soil Tests
2500
Develop plan for demonstration gardens on campus,
student stipend and/or supplies depending on the actual
process used to develop the garden
Total Request
500
$10,000